"No; it must be done with guile.
They would cut us off for certain." "I'm afraid so!" said West.

"Very well, then, we must wait for the evening." "And sit wakeful," said Ingleborough.
"Yes," said West.

"Sleep is impossible!" And sit there wakeful they did, hour after hour, their only satisfaction being that of seeing their weary horses enjoying a good feed untroubled by the increasing heat, or the cares which harassed their masters.
For as the sun rose higher the distant firing increased, till it was evident that a terrible attack was going on, and in his weariness and despair no words on the part of Ingleborough had any effect upon West, who felt convinced that before they could continue their journey Mafeking would have fallen into the enemy's hands.
There was no further talk of sleep.

The heat, flies, hunger, and a burning thirst were either of them sufficient to have kept them awake, without the terrible feeling of anxiety and the alarms caused by bodies of horsemen or lines of wagons journeying in the direction they were waiting to take.
Again and again parties of the Boers seemed to be coming straight for the hiding-place, and West and his companion crept on hands and knees towards their ponies, getting hold of their reins, and then crouching by them ready to mount and gallop for their lives should the necessity arise.
But it did not, and in a strangely-feverish dreamlike way the day glided on and evening at last came, bringing with it wafts of cooler air and, what was of more consequence to them still, a feeling of hope, for though the firing still went on, it had dwindled down into the slow steady reports of one heavy piece discharged at about the same rate as when they had first heard the firing in the morning.
"And it tells its own tale with truthful lips!" said Ingleborough.

"The town is still holding out, and the defenders have ceased to reply." "Because they are nearly beaten!" said West sadly.
"By no means, you croaking old raven!" cried Ingleborough cheerily.
"It's because they want to save their ammunition! They only want to fire when they have something worth firing at.